


cold is the cry

by justdoityoufucker



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fourth Shinobi War, M/M, No Happiness Here Friends, Sad Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-05
Updated: 2018-05-05
Packaged: 2019-05-02 08:39:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14540928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justdoityoufucker/pseuds/justdoityoufucker
Summary: They go together, through some twist of fate.





	cold is the cry

It must be stated that Kakashi is not an optimist. However, with the people they now have on their side, Kakashi feels the smallest possible kernel of hope making itself comfortable in his chest. To see Senju Hashirama flanked by the other Hokage, flanked by  _ Minato _ \--

It’s foolish to hope, he tells himself, as Hashirama stacks progressively more massive torii atop the living statue and Naruto clothes the entire remaining Allied Shinobi Forces in mantles of kyuubi chakra. That Sasuke is there, standing next to Sakura and near him, well. It might be part of the reason that Kakashi has hope.

But--Obito. Obito was predictable in life, but in death Kakashi does not know what to expect from his former teammate. He’s just standing for the moment, conferring with the real reincarnation of Uchiha Madara.

There isn’t any time to make a real plan as they advance, the remainder of the army falling into something of a formation. They all have the last thoughts of Shikaku and Inoichi in their minds. Kakashi finds himself up with his kids, who are no longer kids. Before they can move forward, before they can do anything, Obito leaves Madara and flickers forward, only a dozen meters away from them.

“Coming to surrender?” Naruto calls. His enthusiasm and conviction are almost infectious.

Obito says nothing, but his eyes bore into Kakashi for a moment. “You have brought this upon yourselves. For your betrayal and your foolishness, I will make you feel the pain I felt,” Obito says.

It is as if Kakashi is plunged into a deep water. Slow reactions, slow thoughts. Naruto moves toward Sasuke, and that is his first thought as well, but--

No.  _ No _ .The look on Obito’s face is too knowing and smug and--

The grunt is soft, and Naruto’s head snaps back to make sure that Sasuke is still behind him. Kakashi doesn’t even need to look. His eyes remain fixed on Obito, where Obito was, where Obito reappears. He knows, and the knowledge makes him sick but when Obito throws Iruka onto the muddy ground in front of him, Kakashi is still paralyzed with absolute fear. It should not be Iruka, should  _ never  _ be Iruka. Gods, who let the man come to the battlefield? He was a  _ teacher _ , everyone knew how important he was to Naruto--

“I told you,” Obito says, and his voice is mocking. Kakashi feels rage well up, and then panic, hot and paralyzing. Of course, of  _ course _ he knows somehow, with the Sharingan. A grin or something like a grin pulls his former teammate’s face as the man says, “I will make you feel the same pain I have felt.”

Before he’s really aware, he’s moving, channeling all the chakra he has left into his legs to try and get to Iruka before Obito, to try and get to him before the stake in Obito’s hand falls--

The wet sound of flesh rending to metal is the loudest thing that Kakashi has ever heard, louder than the most powerful crack of lightning. Obito drives the stake through Iruka’s left leg, rips it out.

Iruka, his loved,  _ be _ loved Iruka, doesn’t make a sound, just falls to all fours and bites his lip so hard it bleeds.

Naruto screams, and likely has started forward as well when Iruka falls. Kakashi spares enough focus to hope that Sakura and Sasuke have stopped him as he continues forward.

It’s instantaneous. One minute he’s moving forward, nearly to Obito, nearly to Iruka, and then he’s on the ground, on his back and out of breath. He hadn’t seen Madara move, but the man had, had thrown him to the ground as though it was nothing to him.

“Ka--!” Iruka begins, but he never finishes calling out Kakashi’s name. Instead, the next thing out of his mouth is a pained, heavy grunt as he falls flat, one of Obito’s black stakes driven down, piercing his chest completely through. Time seems to stop as Kakashi watches blood start to pool under the man, hears him choke out a breath.

He isn’t even aware when Madara steps on his chest, and with a flick of his wrist sends a handful of throwing knives into Kakashi’s abdomen. With something like a shrug, Madara leaves him on the ground, pierced by at least half a dozen blades.

The pain is--

The pain is more than Kakashi has ever felt in his life, almost enough to overwhelm him, but he looks back to Iruka and cannot look away, cannot focus on anything else.

There’s blood running from his scarred nose, and one calloused, warm hand weakly attempts to remove the stake driven through his ribs. He coughs, and Kakashi can see the blood misting from his mouth at the action, collecting in one cheek and spilling to the ground as he manages to roll over, away from Obito and Madara.

The blood is--there’s too much, there’s  _ too much _ and Kakashi can see Iruka shivering with the pain as he bleeds out, curling in on himself for a moment before looking back, ever so slowly, meeting Kakashi’s eyes. Desperation, fear,  _ god _ the absolute utter fear in his eyes as he looks at Kakashi, something unspoken going between them. Obito almost casually rips the stake back out, turns to Madara as Iruka whimpers, presses a shaking hand to his chest.

Despite the pain, despite the knowledge that he is dying from the amount of blood leaving his body, Kakashi rolls over and slaps one hand forward, finds purchase. He pulls himself forward, the movements agonizing and slow.

Next hand; half a foot closer.

He stops, jarring the knives embedded in his abdomen. One tears out; his turn to cough, blood hot on his legs as he throws his hand forward, drags himself another few inches.

Each grasp-pull feels like a lifetime. Kakashi ignores the way he can’t feel his legs, ignores how he can hear Sakura screaming. Three feet, two, one and a half. “‘ruka,” he wheezes, forcing himself forward. He’s nearly within reach,  _ gods _ let Kakashi have the strength--

One more grasp-pull, and his hand when he stretches it is next to Iruka’s face, in the blood running from his mouth.

“‘kashi,” Iruka manages to gasp out, “ _ ‘kashi _ .” One shaking, bloodstained hand leaves his chest, falls next to Kakashi’s.

“‘ve got you,” Kakashi says, walking his hand over with his fingers until it’s atop Iruka’s. He’s weak, but he grasps the other man’s hand, squeezes it.

“Hurts,” Iruka whispers, and finally Kakashi notices that Iruka’s crying, his tears dropping, running into the blood. The corners of his mouth tug up in a momentary, pained smile.

“Stay with me,” Kakashi says, desperate, “‘ruka,  _ stay with me _ .”

A cough; Iruka’s entire body shakes. His hand tightens. As Kakashi watches him, stares at him, Iruka summons the last of his strength, whispers, “Find me on the other side.”

And he’s gone; the light leaves his eyes, his hand falls, slack, on the ground.

Distantly, as if through a thick glass window, Kakashi can hear screaming that morphs into something primal, more bestial. But his eyes remain on Iruka, on the one person he loved more than anyone else. Dry heat envelops them; Kakashi can feel the touch of the kyuubi’s chakra, but he is too far gone. He keeps Iruka’s hand in his as his breaths become shallower, as Madara and Obito step over them, heading toward his students, his  _ kids. _

“Wait for me,” Kakashi pleads with his last breath, tears blurring his vision, “wait for me, ‘ruka.”

And as the chakra of the kyuubi flares around him, Kakashi sees and feels no more.


End file.
